Adrian Peterson to Start While Derrius Guice is Sidelined With Knee Injury

The Redskins veterans were pissed when Adrian Peterson was declared inactive by Jay Gruden right before their Week 1 matchup with the Eagles. But after Derrius Guice suffered another knee injury, this time to his meniscus on the non-surgically repaired knee, Peterson will not only be back in the lineup, but he’ll be their starter against the Cowboys.

After Sunday’s game, Gruden explained AP being inactive by saying, “So if we have a game where we think we can run the ball 55 times in a game in an I-formation, then sure, I’ll get him up.” He’ll man the early down carries and give the third down and passing down snaps to Chris Thompson.

However, with Trent Williams still holding out and a game script that could see the Cowboys get ahead early, this isn’t the ideal matchup for Peterson. He’ll definitely enter the game pissed off and could see 15-plus touches, but it’s not a perfect scenario for the future Hall of Famer.

Peterson is currently our RB37 (-4 vs ECR) for Week 2 and is available in 46 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Bottom Line: Pass-catching specialist, who? Christian McCaffrey returned to his college workhorse roots under new OC Norv Turner, and quickly put up Fantasy MVP-worthy numbers. He continued to flash his otherworldly receiving abilities, hauling in an NFL record 106 catches for 875 yards and 6 TDs. Yet where the usage really rose was the carries, as McCaffrey nearly doubled his 2017 total for 215 carries, 1080 yards, and 7 scores. These 321 total touches ranked third behind only Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley, and this newfound volume created the ultimate ceiling / floor combination. In the process, McCaffrey flashed both the elusiveness, breakaway ability, and most shockingly underrated power to redefine the workhorse model.

​New OC Norv Turner deserves immense credit for this outburst. His previous work with LaDanian Tomlinson proved he wasn't afraid to ride a smaller-back, as he's able to scheme his guys in space and in creative outside gaps versus just blasting them up the gut... but even still, never before had an NFL back played nearly 97% of the team's snaps. Yes, this number inevitably will fall in 2019, but McCaffrey should still hover around 85-90%, especially with Turner returning. Expect a similar buffet of weekly volume with the upside for even more efficiency should the Panthers beef up their line while their explosive young wideouts take a next step forward.

Ceiling Projection: 320 touches (100 rec.), 2,000 Tot. Yds, 13 TDs

Floor Projection*: 270 touches (70 rec.), 1600 Tot. Yds, 7 TDs

Actual Projection: 310 touches (90 rec), 1900 Tot. Yds, 12 TDs

*Note - Floors are done without injuries in mind. Of course the lowest floor is torn ACL first play of scrimmage. This assumes 16 games